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news
Near Miss of the Day 520: Cyclist hit by driver's wing mirror coming under narrow bridge
The latest video in our Near Miss of the Day series shows the moment a cyclist was struck by the wing mirror of a motorist driving under a narrow bridge.
Richard, the road.cc reader who sent in the clip of the incident, which happened just after the first lockdown was eased last year, said: "I had had so many unpleasant experiences with drivers at this time that I decided to fit a camera to my bike. I'm glad I did.
"I have not submitted it before as the driver wanted me to pay for his wing mirror which hit me.
"He called the police who attended, interviewed us both and took our details. They then told me it was a civil matter and left us to it.
"They were very nice. I showed them the video on my dash cam which I think helped, you will see that the road sign indicates I have right of way under the bridge.
"I have heard nothing since but I was relieved that I was covered by insurance as part of my British Cycling membership."
> Near Miss of the Day turns 100 - Why do we do the feature and what have we learnt from it?
Over the years road.cc has reported on literally hundreds of close passes and near misses involving badly driven vehicles from every corner of the country – so many, in fact, that we’ve decided to turn the phenomenon into a regular feature on the site. One day hopefully we will run out of close passes and near misses to report on, but until that happy day arrives, Near Miss of the Day will keep rolling on.
If you’ve caught on camera a close encounter of the uncomfortable kind with another road user that you’d like to share with the wider cycling community please send it to us at info [at] road.cc or send us a message via the road.cc Facebook page.
If the video is on YouTube, please send us a link, if not we can add any footage you supply to our YouTube channel as an unlisted video (so it won't show up on searches).
Please also let us know whether you contacted the police and if so what their reaction was, as well as the reaction of the vehicle operator if it was a bus, lorry or van with company markings etc.
> What to do if you capture a near miss or close pass (or worse) on camera while cycling
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
Latest Comments
- ktache 50 min 9 sec ago
The small frame, the aggressive posture, lots of standover height.
- mctrials23 1 hour 45 min ago
As i've said before, the police should be sued for a lot of money when someone they have knowingly ignored has gone on to commit a serious crime....
- David9694 1 hour 53 min ago
'Bad parking' blocks firefighters multiple times on same emergency call-out...
- David9694 1 hour 57 min ago
Cambridgeshire boy, 13, crashes Audi into garden wall after taking it from home...
- Adam Sutton 2 hours 43 min ago
Good stuff. Now do it on cycleway C9 through Hammersmith to Chiswick.
- mark1a 2 hours 52 min ago
It's technically allowed but it's not known as "London's Orbital Car Park" for nothing.
- Dogless 4 hours 26 sec ago
You're defending bombing hospitals and refugee camps and starving children.
- mattw 6 hours 40 min ago
Used car salesman is a complete attention-seeking plank....
- tubasti 6 hours 57 min ago
I don't know if they're any better, but they's certainly become more boring.
- FionaJJ 7 hours 23 min ago
At risk of being cynical, and stereotyping the police, it's so they don't have to leave the comfort of their panda cars and pursue on foot when...
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70 comments
I thought this was the driver's fault. The cyclist could have handled it better, but it was the driver failing to obey the traffic sign that created the situation, so the driver is responsible.
I don't think anyone is not blaming the driver down to the above principle. The only thing people are noting is that the cyclist had plenty of notice that the cars were ignoring it and didn't appear to slow down in case others were going to be arses.
Also, I would have been slowing because the traffic just past the bridge was at a standstill due to the the oncoming waiting traffic and a parked van so even if they had waited, the cyclist would have had to slow down / stop.
It's a DOOR mirror, not a "wing" mirror. It's 2021, not 1966.
Hopefully when you get to 100 posts of exactly the same content, you will call it a day.
It earned me a 4 month ban from posting anything here, believe it or not! Some people don't like being corrected, it seems.
Apparently some people refuse to learn from their mistakes...
What "mistake" would that be? Calling something by its correct name? Do you ever use the term "road tax", by any chance?
To begin with I thought you were very cleverly parodying the road tax/VED nonsense with your wing mirror/door mirror nonsense.
Alas, I was wrong.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misnomer
Wing mirror is certainly a misnomer, as you have pointed out repeatedly.
However, as per the link "a number of misnomers remain in common usage — which is to say that a word being a misnomer does not necessarily make usage of the word incorrect."
Language is not fixed or prescriptive. The fact that a "wing mirror" is not attached to the wing of the car does not make it a mistake to call it that. Everyone knows what "wing mirror" means and that is the only thing that matters in language - a common understanding. The etymology of the phrase is of academic interest but irrelevant in determining whether or not the phrase has been used correctly.
Although I see the similarities, there is an important distinction with "road tax". Specifically, using the phrase "road tax" propogates the myth that car drivers and car drivers alone have paid for the roads, that this gives them the exclusive right to use them howsoever they see fit, and that any other road user is unwelcome. There is therefore a good reason to point out that misnomer, where as I see absolutely no benefit in your campaign to end use of "wing mirror".
Everybody calls it a "log book", but they were replaced by V5C documents decades ago, just like "wing" mirrors have been, save for a few classic cars. Language changes.
So, what's your take on calling the instrument panel a "dashboard"?
Since hardly anyone wears driving gloves these days, we should probably rename the 'glove compartment' the 'old sweet wrappers and random forgotten about junk compartment'.
I call "glove boxes" dropdowns.
Really? And there's me thinking a dropdown was part of the toolbar on various software programmes and web sites. What do you call that lever by your left hand between the front seats? And that's not a trick question.
Do they ? I thought people called it a V5.
They're still called a logbook you Charlie, Gov.uk, "Get a vehicle logbook (V5C)". Honestly, if you're going to try and be a pedant at least research your facts. Otherwise you just look a bit, you know...
They're still called a logbook you Charlie
Are you sure this isn't the other idiot displaying Multiple Personality Disorder?
Really? Because it seems like this comment's been doing the rounds for at least 55 years.
It feels that way definitely....
Cambridge English Dictionary:
Wing mirror: a mirror on the outside of a car door that allows the driver to see the vehicles that are behind or trying to pass
Oxford English Dictionary:
Wing mirror: A rear-view mirror projecting from the side of a motor vehicle.
Now let's have no more of your nonsense.
Was pick-up in wrong, yes, he should not have just followed the car through, and neither should the van. The pick-up should also have moved left once through the gap.
Was the cyclist also in the wrong, I think yes.
I have had plenty of cases, driving, cycling or motorcycling that look a lot like that video. The difference was the moment I realised that my right of way had been compromised, I slowed down and simply conceded, but I did so by taking a prominant position in my lane/on my side of the road to ensure they saw me and that they had held me up. Does this approach help in the long run into shaming their action/driving style, maybe not, but simply riding into the gap as per the video probably doesn't either, is stupid from a self preservation stand-point, and nor does it help the general image of bicycle riders (note I didn't say cyclists). At most the cyclist should have slowed down and then maybe done a suitable (none-rude) wave/shake of the head to indicate displeasure.
Exactly this.
When I am commuting I experience a similar scenario every day on a priority under a railway bridge. There is a stupid and dangerous shared path section under the bridge, that has a 6ft diameter oak tree in the middle of it which any cyclist would have to veer around. This also blocks the view to any pedestrians on the path. Hence I never use it. But the presence of the shared path section seems to suggest to drivers that the priority doesnt apply if its a cyclist coming through and I have had many encounters of them driving at me then hurling abuse for not using it. In this near miss video it does seem the rider was enforcing his priority else would have been stuck waiting for a driver to actually adhere to the give way. The pick up intentionally hit him in my view, as the vehicle appeared to steer towards the cyclist rather than into the gap. At the very least the police should have reprimanded the driver for not checking priority at the dotted line.
Happens to me on a narrow bridge all the time, I have priority vehicle drivers ignore it. I'm not sure I'd take the, "Charge of the Light Brigade" approach to the issue!
Clear as daylight, the comparison between the pickup and the van showing the pickup driver delibrately veering DANGEROUSLY far OFFSIDE into the path of cyclist, whereas the van driver passed SAFELY on the far NEARSIDE, as did the 1st vehicle.
Thus, there was just about sufficent width to pass safely, so why did the pickup driver NOT stay on his side as did other drivers ?
And those suggesting the pick driver could not see the road ahead, effectively are impling that pickup driver was incompetent, and or has impared vision - either way, pickup driver is a dangerous menance to the public, as many of them are, crashing, killing and injuring huge numbers, including children.
It may have been your right of way, but most of the vehicles were mostly through the pinch point under the bridge..Yes drivers do follow my leader attitude, you should have anticipated more vehicles behind the van.
Give way, save yourself from confrontation. We as cyclists expect cars to slow and even stop for us riders, so employ the same practices. It will be less painful
I was the cyclist.
f you watch carefully the pickup has time to move to the left after it has come through the narrowed part of the road (7.0s), as the first driver did, but, the way I see it, the driver chose not to and continued to drive straight at me. I hadn't really expected that and in my opinion I avoided a major collision by moving out of the way. Unfortunately my arm caught his door mirror as I did so. I had slowed down. You will notice that the van managed to leave enough room despite the fact that it was actually at the narrowest part. You will also notice that the van stopped unlike the pickup who didn't seem to me to even slow down after he had seen me.
To me this is a classic example of following the car in front hoping that everthing will be OK but not being able to do anything if it isn't.
I will take your comments on board however and I will make every effort to allow myself to be bullied into giving way in the future. I do like a challenge. Apologies for giving you all a bad name.
If you think it is bad on here, don't look at the facebook comments, apparently you instigated the whole thing
"I will take your comments on board however and I will make every effort to allow myself to be bullied into giving way in the future."
There are other ways of taking control in such a situation, you had plenty of time to be aware of what was unfolding.
Check behind for following vehicles.
If safe to do so (with regard to any other road users)
Slow down / stop if necessary
Make eye contact with driver
If it isn't going to complicate things, indicate for them to complete the move, wave them through as it were.
They are going to carry on anyway, but you have managed the situation, you might even get a nod of appreciation for your tolerance, you lose 5 seconds of your time (compared to how long were you waiting around to talk with Police and other hassle you now have?) and it is safer for everyone.
You also had a pedestrian in the mix there. The drivers were in no danger at all, however you were and a slightly more serious collision knocking you onto the pavement, emergency braking from one of the vehicles or other possible scenario could have ended up with the ped also being involved.
Playing 'Follow my Leader' in a car was something my Dad taught me to avoid myself, and anticipate in others. Pinch points like this are a favourite for drivers blindly proceeding because they are 'shielded' by the car in front.
Agree with the point about the pickup driver, they were playing a very mismatched game of chicken.
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